Speaking as a guy who owns an Atlas TH42 and a South Bend Heavy 10L in need of a great deal of restoration after spending at least 5 years in a leaky barn, and having used South Bend 9" lathes in a high school class about 50 years ago, get the South Bend if you can, but an Atlas will be better than nothing if you can't find a South Bend. ;) I like my Atlas! I'm absolutely certain I'll love my Heavy 10L. The Atlas is about 267lbs. The 10L is 1067lbs. The extra weight helps a lot with stiffness and dampening vibration. I've not even seen a 9" South Bend since that high school class, but even they are heavier than the Atlas lathes, so unless it's a real wreck, you'd probably be better off with a 9" South Bend.?
It all depends on what's available in your area. I spent 34 years looking for any old lathe. Finally settled for a Harbor Freight 93212 Mini-Lathe in 2008. Found my TH42 in 2015, and got the Heavy 10L from Bill Hinkle in 2018, and it's been sitting on hold since 2020...?
Fortunately, I have the Atlas to help me with stuff I might need to make for the 10L.?
Bill in OKC
William R. Meyers, MSgt, USAF(Ret.)
Aphorisms to live by:
Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.?
SEMPER GUMBY!
Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome. Physics doesn't care about your schedule. The only reason I know anything is because I've done it wrong enough times to START to know better
On Monday, January 9, 2023 at 06:16:01 AM CST, W.D.Bill via groups.io <bthrottlemore@...> wrote:
Hi everybody,thanks for letting me join.I don't own a South Bend but I have been looking into stepping up from my 6" craftsman (Atlas).The South Bends definitely interest me but I'm not familiar with them,so I joined here hoping to get some input& knowledge about them so when I start looking to buy, hopefully in the somewhat near future,I can have a better idea what to look for & lookout for. Thanks
Bill in OKC too